Retroreflective Chain and Manufacturing Method

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to jewelry and specifically jewelry with retroreflective inlays. Specifically, the invention relates to a chain link or other jewelry item, with an inlay trough formed in the chain. The inlay trough can be created in a number of ways including casting, CNC milling, photolithography and chemical milling. Once an inlay trough is created, a retroreflective material is embedded in the trough. The retroreflective material which has a bonded top layer of acrylic or polyester is then sealed into the trough with a resin layer that creates a highly reflective, water-resistant, and protective surface. The disclosed invention covers the chain or other jewelry of similar style and the method for producing the jewelry.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The disclosed invention relates to jewelry and specifically jewelry with retroreflective inlays. Jewelry of various types including chains, bracelets, rings, earrings and many others have been status symbols and ways of decorating the human body for many millennia. One of the most sought after characteristics of these items is reflectiveness or sparkle. The goal for the wearer is often to draw attention to themselves with the sparkle or reflective nature of their jewelry accessories.

Precious metals, gems and various other valuable materials have long been used to achieve the desired reflective and sparkling nature. These materials come at a high cost and as such are not available to many people. Another approach known in the art is to inlay other materials into less expensive metals to achieve reflectivity or a unique design.

The novel aspect of the disclosed invention is the type of reflective material inlayed into the jewelry and the method for manufacturing the jewelry with this unique inlay material.

DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND ART

Methods of manufacturing jewelry with materials inlayed into other materials are well known in the art. These known methods include metals with other materials inlayed such as other metals, stone, ceramic, gems, or shells.

In addition to traditional inlays manufactured with metals as the base materials, there are multiple other types and methods for costume jewelry found in the prior art. These include costume jewelry made in sheets or with non-traditional materials inlayed in troughs manufactured in the item. These non-traditional materials can include ground gemstones or faceted material.

In addition to materials inlayed in a trough, the background prior art discloses covering inlayed items with a variety of clear materials, including cellulose, pyroxylin, xylonite, clear plastic or polyurethane domes.

As will become clear from the disclosure below, the claimed invention improves on these existing products and methods.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a method of manufacturing a retroreflective jewelry item.

It is an object of the invention to provide a uniquely reflective chain manufactured with retroreflective film.

It is an object of the invention to embed a retroreflective material into an inlay trough.

It is an object of the invention to apply an acrylic/polyester waterproof face film on top of the retroreflective material.

It is an object of the invention to apply a coat of resin on top of the acrylic/polyester waterproof face film and retroreflective material.

It is an object of the invention to utilize a retroreflective material comprised of glass beads in the inlay trough.

It is an object of the invention to utilize a retroreflective material comprised of ceramic beads in the inlay trough.

It is an object of the invention to utilize a prismatic retroreflective material that creates reflectivity with prisms.

It is an object of the invention to use a metal mold to produce a chain link with an inlay trough.

It is an object of the invention to use a computer numerical control device to create an inlay trough in a chain link.

It is an object of the invention to use photolithography and chemical milling to create an inlay trough in a chain link.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The disclosed invention relates to jewelry and specifically jewelry with retroreflective inlays. Specifically, the invention relates to a chain link or other jewelry item, with an inlay trough formed in the chain. The inlay trough can be created in a number of ways including casting, CNC milling or photolithography and chemical milling. Once an inlay trough is created, a retroreflective material is embedded in the trough. The retroreflective material which is comprised of a water-resistant top layer is sealed into the trough with a resin layer that creates a protective, water-resistant, and highly reflective surface. The disclosed invention covers the chain or other jewelry of similar style and the method for producing the jewelry.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a diagram of the chain link of the claimed invention.

FIG. 2 shows a metal mold forming the chain link.

FIG. 3 shows CNC milling of the inlay trough.

FIG. 4 shows photolithography and chemical milling of the inlay trough.

FIG. 5 shows the inlay trough and trough edge.

FIG. 6 shows the process of embedding the retroreflective material.

FIG. 7A shows a cross section of engineer grade glass bead reflective tape.

FIG. 7B shows a cross section of high intensity glass bead reflective tape.

FIG. 7C shows a cross section of metalized micro-prismatic reflective tape.

FIG. 7D shows a cross section of non-metalized micro-prismatic reflective tape.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The disclosed invention, preferred embodiment and claims relate to a jewelry item, in the preferred embodiment comprising a chain, with a unique retroreflective material inlayed into a trough in the material, layered with an acrylic/polyester face film and covered with a clear epoxy material. Both the inlayed material and the manufacturing method are unique and novel extensions of the existing prior art.

While the descriptions below are in reference to the preferred embodiment, many other embodiments are anticipated by the claims and this preferred embodiment is not intended to limit the breadth of the claims in any way.

FIG. 1 shows all the elements of the preferred embodiment of the claimed invention. Chain bracelet 3 is comprised of a jewelry body made of a plurality of chain links 4 each displayed with inlay trough 1 and inlay edge 2. While the preferred embodiment shows a chain bracelet, many other jewelry embodiments with alternate body shapes are anticipated by the claims, including ropes, bands, rings, cables, cuffs, beads and many other types of jewelry not listed here. The jewelry body can be made of any of a number of non-ferrous metals used in the manufacture of jewelry such as silver, stainless steel, gold, platinum, titanium, copper, palladium, tungsten, aluminum, brass, bronze, niobium and bronze, in addition to other metal materials well known in the art. The chain bracelet 4 further comprises clasp 5 with clasp release 6 and clasp connector 7. When worn on a wrist, clasp connector 7 slots securely in clasp 5. The wearer can release clasp connector 7 from clasp 5 by pushing on clasp release 6 to easily remove the bracelet.

Further detail of the claimed invention is shown with retroreflective material 9 and resin material 8 in an exploded view of the chain bracelet. More detail will be provided in later figures about the specific materials used and methods for manufacturing the claimed invention.

FIG. 2 shows one of the preferred methods for manufacturing the claimed invention. In this figure, top metal mold 10 and bottom metal mold 11 are used for metal casting the chain bracelet 4, and are each formed of a metal, which in the preferred embodiment is 6061 aluminum alloy. In the alternative, the mold can be made from different types of non-ferrous metals including aluminum, copper, titanium and others, steel, cast iron, graphite, ceramic and sand. Using this method, the preferred shape of the chain bracelet is formed in the negative in the top metal mold 10 and the bottom metal mold 11. Top metal mold 10, which forms the top of the chain bracelet 3, will have the inlay trough 1 and inlay edge 2 already formed in the mold, in relief, in the negative. Bottom metal mold 11 will have the underside of the chain bracelet 3 formed in it in the same manner. Liquid or soft metal is poured in the mold and both top mold 10 and bottom mold 11 are pressed together to form chain bracelet 3. The liquid or soft metal can be one of many non-ferrous metal materials appropriate for jewelry designs such as silver, stainless steel, gold, platinum, titanium, copper, palladium, tungsten, aluminum, brass, bronze, niobium and bronze, in addition to other metal materials well known in the art. In alternate embodiments, bottom mold 10 and top mold 11 can be formed of rubber. Additionally, powder metallurgy can be used instead of liquid metal. Powder metallurgy uses metal powder, that is compacted and sintered between the two molds. The powder is compacted into the mold and forms the chain in a similar fashion to the liquid metal.

FIG. 3 shows an alternate method of creating the inlay troughs 1 and with inlay edge 2 that involves milling the chain bracelet 3 with a computer numerical control (CNC) machine comprised of a computer controller 14, a spindle 13 and a drill bit 12. In this embodiment, the chain bracelet must be fixed in the CNC tool, and then the computer numerical control machine operates the spindle 13 and drill bit 12 to mill the material out of the chain and form the inlay trough 1 and inlay edge 2 in each chain link 3. The computer control of this device provides great accuracy of milling and precise trough depth and shape. Also shown on this figure are measurements of the chain bracelet of the preferred embodiment. The clasp connector 7 measures 9 mm, the distance between chain links 3 is 4.8 mm and the length of clasp 5 is 14 mm.

FIG. 4 outlines another embodiment of the present invention outlines another process for creating the troughs in the bracelet using photolithography and chemical milling. The first step in the process is shown at 15 with photosensitive polymer or photoresist coating being applied to the surface of the chain bracelet 3 and each chain link 4. This coating is resistant to acid. At 16, a UV light blast or fiber laser is used to remove the photoresist or photosensitive polymer in a pattern that matches the desired shape of the inlay trough 1. Once the material is removed, the inlay trough 2 is exposed while the rest of chain link 3 is covered by the acid resistant coating. Chemical milling is shown in 18 where acid containing etchant is sprayed on to chain link 3 and removes metal in the exposed area, while the area covered by photosensitive polymer or photoresist is protected from the acid based etchant. This creates inlay trough 2. The final step is shown in 18 with the chain links 3 sprayed with resist stripper to remove the photosensitive polymer or photoresist.

FIG. 5 shows some key measurements of inlay trough 1 and inlay edge 2 in the preferred embodiment. In the preferred embodiment, the depth of inlay trough 1 is 0.4 mm. This is the depth of the trough measured from the top of the inlay edge 2 to the bottom of inlay trough 1. Another key measurement is the width of inlay edge 2, which is 0.4 mm in the disclosed embodiment. While these are the measurements for this preferred embodiment, the measurements of the depth of the inlay trough 1 and width of inlay edge 2 could be varied over a great range depending on visual design requirements, materials used and production methods used.

FIG. 6 shows the application and installation of the retro-reflective material in the inlay trough 1. In the preferred embodiment, retroreflective material 9 is made of engineer grade glass bead reflective tape such as 3M™ Engineering Grade Glass Bead Reflective Tape or 3M™ Stamark Road Marking Tape. This retroreflective material comprises a carrier film with a metalized top layer. Glass beads are applied and embedded into the film which gives the film its retroreflective properties. The film is then covered in acrylic or polyester in order to create a transparent layer that protects the glass beads and makes them water resistant. A layer of adhesive is applied to the bottom of the film with a release liner in order for the film to have sticker like properties.

The retroreflective material of the preferred embodiment comes in A4 sheets (210 mm×297 mm) and is cut into the shape of inlay trough 1 by laser cutting, a blade, plotter device or a vinyl cutter. For best results, the retroreflective material is placed in the trough by hand, but machine means are also anticipated. Once retroreflective material 9 is placed into the inlay trough 1, resin 8 is dripped into inlay trough 1. This material coats and seals retroreflective material 9 into the trough. In the preferred embodiment, resin 8 is clear epoxy resin. Resin 8 can also be one of the following materials: clear UV resin or clear polyester resin. Other retroreflective materials that can be used in the trough include high intensity glass bead reflective tape, metalized micro-prismatic reflective tape and non-metalized micro-prismatic reflective tape.

FIGS. 7A-7D show four different constructions of retroreflective material 9. FIG. 7A shows a cross-section of the retroreflective material 9 used in the preferred embodiment. This retroreflective material 9 is formed with an adhesive layer 20 (with release liner) at the base, then metalized layer 21 with retroreflective glass beads 22 applied to and embedded in the metalized layer. Acrylic/polyester face film 19 is the layer above the retroreflective glass beads 22. Acrylic/polyester face film 19 protects retroreflective glass beads 22 and makes them water resistant.

FIG. 7B displays a cross section of high intensity glass bead reflective tape. This retroreflective material 9 is formed an adhesive layer 20 (with release liner) at the base, then metalized layer 21 with retroreflective glass beads 22 applied to and embedded in the metalized layer 21. In this material retroreflective glass beads 22 are separated from each other by a honeycomb shaped grid 26. The grid 26 holds the retroreflective glass beads 22 in separate cells where they are bonded to the metalized layer 21 and then covered with acrylic/polyester face film 19. This covering protects the glass beads and makes them water resistant.

Metalized micro-prismatic reflective tape is shown in FIG. 7C. This retroreflective material 9 is made without glass beads by creating a prism array 27 out of acrylic or polyester as the top layer. The prism array top layer reflects light back to its source. In order to enhance reflectivity, this material also includes a metalized layer 21. At the base, there is an adhesive later 21 and at the top, a acrylic/polyester face film 19.

The non-metalized micro-prismatic reflective tape in FIG. 7D is similar to metalized micro-prismatic reflective tape in FIG. 7C in that it includes a prism array 27. The prism array 27 is bonded to a grid layer 26 which creates air spaces 28 below the prisms. The air space 28 allows for high visibility and reflectivity without a metalized layer. 

1. A method for manufacturing a reflective jewelry item comprising the steps of: Casting metal into a jewelry body having a top side and a bottom side using a mold comprising a top mold and bottom mold; Forming a trough in the top side of the jewelry body, the trough having a defined shape; Cutting a retroreflective material into the defined shape, the retroreflective material comprising an adhesive layer, a retroreflective layer and a face film layer; Placing the retroreflective material into the trough; and Covering the top of the retroreflective material with resin.
 2. The method of claim 1 where the metal is a non-ferrous metal from the group of silver, stainless steel, gold, platinum, titanium, copper, palladium, tungsten, aluminum, brass, bronze, niobium and bronze.
 3. The method of claim 1 where the jewelry body shape is from the group of chain, rope, ring, band, cable, cuff or bead.
 4. The method of claim 1 where the top and bottom mold are formed of a material from the group of aluminum, copper, titanium, steel, cast iron, graphite, ceramic and sand.
 5. The method of claim 1 where the top mold and bottom mold are formed of 6061 aluminum alloy.
 6. The method of claim 1 where the top and bottom mold are formed of rubber.
 7. The method of claim 1 where the trough is formed using a computer numerical control machine.
 8. The method of claim 1 where the trough is formed using photolithography.
 9. The method of claim 1 where the retroreflective material is engineer grade glass bead reflective tape.
 10. The method of claim 1 where the retroreflective material is high intensity glass bead reflective tape.
 11. The method of claim 1 where the retroreflective material is metalized micro-prismatic reflective tape.
 12. The method of claim 1 where the retroreflective material is non-metalized micro-prismatic reflective tape.
 13. A reflective jewelry item comprising: A jewelry body having a top side and a bottom side, the jewelry body being formed of metal; The top side of the jewelry body having a trough formed therein; and The trough containing a retroreflective material and a resin material covering the top of the retroreflective material, the retroreflective material comprising an adhesive layer, a retroreflective layer and a face film layer.
 14. The jewelry item of claim 11 where the metal is from the group non-ferrous metal from the group of silver, stainless steel, gold, platinum, titanium, copper, palladium, tungsten, aluminum, brass, bronze, niobium and bronze.
 15. The jewelry item of claim 11 where the jewelry body shape is from the group of chain, rope, ring, band, cable, cuff or bead.
 16. The jewelry item of claim 11 where the trough is formed using a computer numerical control machine.
 17. The jewelry item of claim 11 where the trough is formed using photolithography and chemical milling.
 18. The jewelry item of claim 11 where the retroreflective material is engineer grade glass bead reflective tape.
 19. The jewelry item of claim 11 where the retroreflective material is high intensity glass bead reflective tape.
 20. The jewelry item of claim 11 where the retroreflective material is metalized micro-prismatic reflective tape.
 21. The jewelry item of claim 11 where the retroreflective material is non-metalized micro-prismatic reflective tape. 